BILL NUMBER: ACR 64	CHAPTERED  06/17/99

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER   48
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   JUNE 17, 1999
	ADOPTED IN SENATE   JUNE 15, 1999
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY   JUNE 10, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   JUNE 10, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Leonard, Vincent, Washington,
Wesson, and Wright
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Baugh, Aanestad, Ackerman, Alquist,
Aroner, Ashburn, Baldwin, Bates, Battin, Bock, Briggs, Calderon,
Campbell, Cardenas, Cardoza, Cedillo, Correa, Cox, Cunneen, Davis,
Dickerson, Dutra, Firebaugh, Florez, Frusetta, Gallegos, Granlund,
Havice, Hertzberg, House, Jackson, Kaloogian, Keeley, Knox, Kuehl,
Leach, Lempert, Longville, Lowenthal, Machado, Maddox, Maldonado,
Margett, Mazzoni, McClintock, Nakano, Olberg, Oller, Robert Pacheco,
Rod Pacheco, Papan, Pescetti, Reyes, Romero, Runner, Scott, Shelley,
Soto, Steinberg, Strickland, Strom-Martin, Thompson, Thomson,
Torlakson, Villaraigosa, Wayne, Wiggins, Wildman, and Zettel)

                        MAY 24, 1999

   Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 64--Relative to Juneteenth,
Emancipation Day.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 64, Leonard.  Juneteenth, Emancipation Day.
   This measure would declare June 19 as Juneteenth throughout the
State of California, in honor of the 134th anniversary of Juneteenth,
or Emancipation Day.  The measure also would urge all Californians
to reflect on the significant role that African Americans have played
in the history of the United States and California and on the
positive impact that they continue to make on society.




   WHEREAS, June 19, 1999, marks the 134th Anniversary of Juneteenth,
Emancipation Day; and
   WHEREAS, The history of Juneteenth dates back to June 19, 1865,
when General Gordon Granger landed at Galveston, Texas, with a
regiment of Union Army soldiers and read General Order No. 3, which
began with the following two memorable sentences:  "The people of
Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the
Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an
absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former
masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between
them becomes that between employer and hired labor."; and
   WHEREAS, Juneteenth, as Emancipation Day, spread from Texas to the
neighboring states of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma and has also
appeared in Alabama, Florida, and California where many African
American Texans migrated; and
   WHEREAS, Large celebrations of June 19 began in 1866 and have
continued regularly into the 20th Century; African Americans treat
this day like the Fourth of July with celebrations that include
prayer services, speakers, readings from the emancipation
proclamation, and food and entertainment; and
   WHEREAS, African Americans have played a major role in the history
of the United States and have enriched society through their
steadfast commitment to promoting brotherhood, equality, and justice;
and
   WHEREAS, From the earliest days of the United States, the course
of its history has been influenced greatly by African Americans in
many diverse areas, from science, medicine, business, and education
to government, industry, law, and military and social leadership; and

   WHEREAS, History books of United States history note prominently
many of the gallant and accomplished African Americans who have
played a major role in American history, including Booker T.
Washington, George Washington Carver, Mary McCleod Bethune, Harriet
Tubman, Daniel Hale Williams, Fannie Lou Hamer, General Benjamin O.
Davis, Jr. of the Tuskegee Airmen, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Congressman Oscar
De Priest, to name a few; and
   WHEREAS, A growing number of American and African American
cultural institutions, including the Smithsonian Institution's
National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., the Chicago
Historical Society, the Black Archives of Mid-America Inc. in Kansas
City, Missouri, the Los Angeles Cultural Center, the Henry Ford
Museum & Greenfield Village in Detroit, and the Museum of
African-American Life and Culture in Dallas, have sponsored
Juneteenth-based cultural events designed to share knowledge of this
celebration with all Americans; and
   WHEREAS, Juneteenth celebrations are a tribute to those African
Americans who fought so long and worked so hard to make the dream of
equality a reality; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That June 19 is hereby declared permanently as
Juneteenth throughout the State of California; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature urges all Californians to take this
opportunity to reflect on the significant role that African
Americans have played in the history of the United States, and
California in particular, and on the positive impact that African
Americans continue to make on society; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the State Library, the State Archives, the State
Department of Education, and the author for appropriate distribution.
